Like Father, Like Son
by youngmoInactive
Summary: Lloyd Garmadon has been missing for years. When Sensei Wu went to pick him up from Darkley's, they said he had taken off. Even with the help of the ninja, the small boy has vanished off the mainland without a trace. Where did this boy go, and is there a chance that this invitation will truly guide them to where he is?
1. Chapter 1

**So I started this story about a year ago, actually. :) I posted it on DeviantART first, and now I'm deciding I'm going to cross-post and continue it over here as well.**

 **Another AU idea, what a surprise.**

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Chapter One

The young man stood there, shirtless, coated in a thin, gleaming coat of sweat, breathing heavily. He looked up at me, and nodded, ready for the next fight. I complied with his demands, and sent in the next group to fight him.

They were quick to surround him, and he whirled on the ball of his foot, eyeing them all, deciding where to start. I turned, looking my second in command in the eye. "Start the timer."

As he clicked the button, the sharp tone chirped loudly, and he began, fearlessly, and wildly fighting with them. His body moved fluidly, and he had no qualms about hurting them. I heard several snapping bones, and shouts to go with them, but the fight still went on, one by one they each fell to the ground. Still alive, but battered and bruised in ways that would hurt for days, or weeks, in some cases.

He clicked the timer again, and read out the time, his normally flat voice showing hints of impressed tones. "Two minutes, thirty-three seconds to take down seven of your best…"

I nodded excitedly, gesturing to the young man to come up to us. He began to put away his weapons, before coming to join us, brushing his fingers through his shaggy hair. "I think he's quite ready!" I stood, smiling proudly at the boy. "You've improved so much, my son." He kept his head down, but glanced up at me with his sly blue eyes, smirking just slightly. Like he had been taught, he kept his respectful silence. "Look me in the eyes, young man." He did, and the expression on his face was ready to challenge me. "How are your powers?"

I watched him carefully as he smiled, lifting his head up to look me in the eyes, confident in himself. "They're much stronger than they were this time last year. I am more connected to them, more in control, father." As if to prove himself, he showed me small examples, and I couldn't help smiling.

"Good, good my son." I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and looked at the other man. "Tell my men to prepare for tonight. Tonight, my son will truly join us." As he nodded silently, and walked off, I looked at my son, placing my hands on his shoulders, staring into his strong blue eyes. "You do want to join us, don't you?"

The look on his face was priceless. "Father, you said-"

A loud series of snickers and giggles spilled out of me. "Only a joke! Only a joke! You take everything so seriously!" I hugged him, before pulling him back, smiling. "I know this is what you want, my son." He relaxed visibly, smiling back at me. "Now go shower, prepare yourself for tonight. Tell your sister, too." I let go of him, and watched as he took off. "For tonight, you truly become one of us!"

As he ran off, I sat back down, staring up at the sun-streaked sky, the last rays of night fading from view, but not enough that I couldn't see the bright shine coming from Arcturus, before bowing my head and closing my eyes, starting to whisper a prayer to him.

* * *

I had stopped in the doorway before leaving, watching my "father" from a distance, silent and unseen.

Seeing him drop to his knees and begin praying was not a normal occurrence in our family. Never had I seen him do it before. Holding my breath, I listened in the best that I could.

"...as you welcome him into your family, watch over him and guard him as your own." I saw him began to stand, and spun on my foot, high-tailing it out of there, to my sister's room, bursting in without knocking.

It was dark.

She was still asleep, but not for long. My feet carried me the extra few yards to her bed, and I leapt onto it, flopping down beside her with enough force to jostle her awake. "Skylor, you won't believe what's going to happen tonight!"

* * *

It had taken more than a little while to get Skylor to wake up and turn on the light so she could listen to me. The sun was still rising, so her bedside lamp was necessary.

"...Lloyd, are you sure you really want to go through with this?" She asked, brushing her hair smooth. Her eyes were staring me down, wanting the truth. "You know once you take it there's-"

"There's no way out of it, I know. I know I'll be called when the time comes. I know what it means-"

She cut me off like I had with her. "You don't know what it means, Lloyd. You don't know what it'll do to you." She rubbed her shoulder, and looked away for a second. "You don't know what it'll take for it to happen, either."

I rolled my eyes. Skylor never had wanted me to be trained, but my powers had started growing out of control, and dad had insisted upon me training, so I no longer ruined bedding in my sleep, so I no longer froze the water pitcher during dinners, so I no longer shorted the power in the building just by flipping a single switch. He just wanted what was best for me.

He always had.

"Look, if this is your way to try and get me to quit…"

"No, it's me trying to keep you safe, Lloyd." She rolled out of bed, stretching her arms as she walked to her closet. "I'll tell dad I want you to think about it for one more week, okay?" She opened the door, and grabbed a black bag out of it, throwing it at me. "For now, we're going on a trip to Ninjago City."

I caught the bag with ease, and sighed. I hated Ninjago City. I hated the anonymity of being there, the way the people would just walk on by you, like you didn't exist.

The way they could leave you there to starve, and pretend they didn't see you.

Skylor knew how I felt. She knew I hated it, which was why she wanted to take me there. "No, let's go somewhere else." I winced as the words came out. Instead of a demand, they sounded small, weak, like a sick kid asking for something to drink.

She shook her head, and smiled at me. "We're leaving in three hours, just after breakfast." There was a tone of finality in her voice, and she walked towards me, turning me to face her door. "Now get out."

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 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please comment, it'll make me update faster! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is gonna be a much shorter chapter, but the next two will be longer, I promise. :) I'm really thankful for the reviews you guys gave me! I've decided I'm gonna stager out releasing these chapters.**

 **Note: I'm only gonna update this on Saturdays; but due to...an incident, I'm updating twice this weekend. Do not expect this ever again. Honestly I feel like I'm dying right now**

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Chapter Two

We all groaned as we laid down on the floor of the dojo. The mats were nice and cool to us.

Training hadn't even started yet.

It was a sweltering ninety-five degrees outside today, and Sensei still insisted on us going out to search for his missing nephew. We had gone all the way, by foot, to Jamonakai Village, on the possibility that the kid was still there, that the lead-even several years old-still could lead us to him. We had to find this kid, according to Sensei.

No one had seen this kid. I was starting to think he had dropped off the face of existence the day he ran away from his school. There wasn't a single fresh clue past the month we became a team, and each day, it seemed more unlikely that anyone would remember seeing him.

We could hear Sensei walking towards the room, and we each got up, wiping the sweat off our faces, trying to appear like the heat hadn't gotten to all of us-even Kai- had been worn out by the sweltering heat. As he walked in, we all bowed in respect. "Afternoon, Sensei…" We each mumbled. Jay stifled a yawn as he did.

"Afternoon." He looked at all of us, brow furrowed. "Any sign of my nephew?"

I shook my head, sighing. "No, Sensei. They haven't seen him in years…"

"I need you to find him. It's very important that we find him." His eyes swept over us all, worried, and panicked, two unusual things to see, even after all these years he had been our teacher. "Can you go back out and look again? Surely there has to be someone who-"

"Sensei!" Kai snapped, glaring, his arms crossed over his chest. "Don't you think we've tried?! We've searched all over Ninjago to try and find him, going to the same places every day for years! He's GONE, Sensei! It's clear he doesn't want to be found!" The silence that followed was deafening, and hung heavier in the room, sticking to our skin more than the humidity outside had.

Jay and I glanced between them, and watched as Sensei bowed his head. "Fine then. Training's cancelled for today. I need you to go back out there, and look for Lloyd. It's truly important that he is found, my pupils…"

I sighed. "Alright, alright, we'll go look for him. Grabbing Kai, I led my team out back onto the streets, looking at all of them. "We need to keep trying, just for him. He wants his nephew back for some reason, and who are we to not do what he asks?"

Jay chewed his lip for a second, before opening his mouth. "Cole, I know you want to do what's right, but Kai's right. This kid's a ghost. He doesn't exist."

"He has to, otherwise Sensei wouldn't be looking for him as hard as he is." I shook my head, lifting my hair off the back of my neck so the air could try cooling it off. "We just gotta try a few more times…"

"And what if we never find the boy?" Zane asked. His face was flushed from the heat, and I felt bad for him. His systems never took heat too well, especially heat like this. "What if Lloyd is never found, or what if he's…" Zane trailed off, looking away.

We didn't need to hear what he wanted to say. We all wondered sometimes if that was the case. Sensei certainly did, we could tell by the way he held his breath every time a body was found somewhere in Ninjago. He was always worried that it was his nephew.

"Let's just get going…" I mumbled, starting to walk down the sidewalk. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we can go back inside."

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 **You guys know how this works~ If you want more, you gotta review**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay...remember how I said I would space things out? yeah no, I'm too impatient for that. I just finished writing chapter 5 and I'm on a roll, so I can probably knock 6 out of the way today too :) again, feedback motivates me and I LOVE hearing from you guys**

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Chapter Three

My throat felt tight as soon as I left Skylor's room. Sweat broke out all over my body, and I felt cold, clammy, and sick to my stomach. I _did_ _not_ want to leave this island. I had _no_ _intention_ of ever going back to Ninjago, especially not all the way back to Ninjago City. Somehow, I made it back to my own room, safe in the embrace of the green, and gold, and _quiet_ of everything. It was enough to silence the thoughts in my head. It wasn't enough though, I needed this shakiness to leave. I needed to know I didn't have to go back there, that my sister wasn't about to get her way and force me back there.

Throwing the bag down on my bed, I left the room quickly, the door slamming loudly behind me as it closed forcefully. I needed to find someone, my father, Clouse, anyone. I needed someone to give me a task that would be able to keep me here, and away from that trip with Skylor.

 _stomach rumbling, shaking, shivering, rain, dyingdyingdying!_

Running down the hall, I leapt onto the banister to slide down the stairs. Clouse had to be around here somewhere. He always was lurking somewhere, in some shady corner of this sprawling complex. My hands ran through my hair, brushing it back.

 _You're okay now. No one will hurt you. No one. No one._

I couldn't breathe. I kept running, sucking down air, but I wasn't breathing. Then I stopped running, and I felt numb, a sore feeling spreading through me.

Of course. Running into someone would do that to you. I shook my head, trying to actually breathe this time, to shake away those feelings, that fear, everything.

"...Are you alright, master Lloyd?" It was just who I had been looking for. Clouse. I looked up at him, and shook my head.

"I need to see my father. Now." I didn't let it show, but I was wincing at how my voice sounded. It was shaky, and terrified. Weak. Everything I hated hearing. Clouse raised an eyebrow, but he didn't question it, leading me to see my father. He looked up from whatever he was doing when I walked in, the doors closing behind me loudly. "F-father…"

He looked me over, smiling. "Shouldn't you be preparing for your trip with Skylor?" Ice filled the room at the thought, and his smile quickly faded. "You don't seem excited."

"I-I," I stuttered, trying to compose myself. It was not something I had to do often, and it didn't come easy. "Father, I don't want to go."

"I'm making him go, Dad." Skylor said, walking in. "He needs to go and see what's out there before taking on the brand-"

"You make it sound like a bad thing, Skylor." I mumbled, glaring at her. This was what I had worked towards for years, to be accepted fully like this. She had hers, I didn't see what the big deal was with her refusing for me to be one of them. "I want to do this."

"Dad, he's too young! He doesn't know what he's getting into!" Skylor nearly shrieked, gripping my wrist tightly, pushing me out of the room. She slammed the door in my face, and I pressed my ear against it, hearing the lock click. Her voice may have been muffled, but her anger was not. "He's still a kid, dad. You can't let him join in on this…this _cult_!"

"He's insistent that this is what he wants, Skylor... " His voice was getting softer, and I could hear them walking away from the door, deeper into the library. My frown only deepened. Trying the lock just once more, I sighed, kicking the wood gently. They were gone, now.

Sluggishly, I made it back to my room. Last night's training was catching up to me now, and I felt that sleep was _demanding_ my attention. All of my muscles began aching, and each step felt like a mile. To anyone else, the way I was walking was probably akin to a zombie's shuffle, just without my arms drooping out in front of me.

I don't remember getting to my room, or even walking to my bed, but I do remember flopping down, the lush comforter curling around my body, enfolding me in comfort.

* * *

The smell of something sour was what woke me up, someone tugging on my arm. I opened my eyes slowly, sleep crusting around the edges. It was the middle of the day, and that was when it hit.

Skylor had gotten her way, and here she was, trying to drag me out of bed, so she could drag me far far away from home, to the one place I don't enjoy going. Sitting up, I was greeted with her thick ponytail hitting my face as she spun on the ball of her foot, huffing in irritation. "I gave you plenty of time to pack, and here you are, in your jammies, with an empty bag. Unbelievable." She was making a storm out of herself, whirling around my room, tossing this, and that into the bag, whatever she thought might be necessary for a week in hell. "It's time for you to grow up, Lloyd. You need to face your fears."

Laying back down, I wrapped myself up under the thick comforter, encased in a warm cocoon."I don't want to. I'm fine with staying here."

She rolled her eyes, and drug the covers back, wrenching them out of my grip. "Dad said you had to. One of his former students is coming here, and he'd rather not have him see you."

That was interesting. Our father have never had a _former_ student come back. As far as we knew, the only students he had ever had were the ones here now. "How long is his "former student" staying here?"

Skylor shrugged as she drug me out of bed, shoving some of the casual clothes that she kept around for me into my arms. "He didn't say. Now get dressed so we can go, the ship is leaving in fifteen minutes!" Zipping up the bag, she started to walk towards my door. "And if you don't come down, Clouse is going to have the buffoons come up here and drag you down to the ship." As she stepped out of the room, I looked down at the bundle of very, very dark fabric in my arms, and sighed.

It looked like going to Ninjago City was inevitable.

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 **From here out, things are gonna be getting interesting, I promise. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome back, guys! Again, I'm so thankful for all the comments you've given me!**

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Chapter Four

Fifteen minutes later, I could see him running towards the boat, shoes still untied. His hair was damp, so I assume he had tried to wash it quickly, to get the sweat from last night out of it. A smile crept onto my face as he leapt aboard, landing quietly on the balls of his feet. "Nice of you to join us, Lloyd." I leaned to the left as the boat lurched, the giant paddlewheel driving into the water, moving us through the water, away from the island.

As he stood himself up, I watched him lean on the railing, head turned so he could watch as we drifted further and further away from the island, our home getting smaller. When I touched his shoulder, he looked up at me, just for a second, before turning his head away again. An exasperated sigh slipped out, and I removed my hand. "You can't always hide back there, you know. Eventually we're all going to leave that place, even Dad."

I could see how much that thought bothered him. If dad left the island, who would stay there with him? "It's gonna happen…"

"I don't want it to." His voice was venomous, and his knuckles were whiter than the clouds in the sky as his grip tightened on the railing. These words were unusual for him. Going against any idea of dad's? Lloyd had never been one for rebellion like that. He was the one who agreed with anything that came out of my father's mouth. The one who did what he was told.

Sighing, I brushed some of his shaggy hair back, the sun catching in some of the golden strands, shining brightly. "He wants to leave there though, that's the thing. If everything goes well, he'll get what he wants, and we'll all be off that island."

He shot up suddenly, and huffed, storming away. I watched, his hands shoving his hood up over his head, turning the corner to go down into the hull of the ship. He was gone, and probably wouldn't resurface until we dragged him out of there. The door slammed shut, and I couldn't help but sigh.

Lloyd was always like this on days where things didn't go his way. If he had to even talk about where he came from, about his life before the island, about Ninjago now he would become irritable for hours. Being told he had to go back there, even for minutes, even if he just had to get on the boat, and could stay on it would put him in a foul, and bitter mood for a week, easily. The first time had been the worst time. It had been a few months after he arrived, and he ended up locking himself in his room for a week, and wouldn't talk to dad or Clouse, or even myself for a solid month.

A gust of wind blew some sea spray from the paddlewheel into the side of my head, the water chilly as it slipped down my skin. In the distance, thunder rumbled, echoing across the vast ocean, a haunting sound. The crew men began to run around the deck, moving anything inside that they could. We were going right into the storm.

* * *

My heart was pounding again.

There was thunder outside, and I could see lightning in the distance, and it was getting closer.

Turn around, turn around right now!

I swallowed hard, running my hands through my hair, brushing it out of my face as I paced. Five steps, five steps left, five steps back, five steps right. Repeat. Repeat. Re-

 _Arms lifted me up, moving fast. I was jostled, and I felt something so warm being wrapped over me, shielding me from the torrent of rain._

 _Thunder cracked loudly overhead, and the whole world was illuminated a brilliant, dazzling purple. Stars were popping in front of my eyes. The fabric had done little to block out the light._

 _Hands, pressing me close to something strong, something even warmer than the fabric._

 _Faster, faster. I could feel them moving somewhere. Suddenly, the rain didn't touch me. My back was on something soft. The fabric was wrapped around my body, and another thing rubbed my hair almost roughly, before rubbing my face. Wiping away the water._

 _It was black, but it was the quiet blackness, the quiet kind where everything is a bit fuzzy, and it's calm. Muffled noises surrounded me, and-_

I was sitting against the wall, arms wrapped tightly around myself, like I would fall apart without it. Stay here, Lloyd. Don't go there.

The boat lurched violently, and I let go, clawing at the wood beneath myself for stability. There was this gasping sound in my ears, and it took a minute before I realized it was my own breathing, muddled by the blood roaring in my ears, softening the edge of the world for me as I recovered.

In my mind, there are boxes. One box is unlocked, the other is locked. In the locked box are the things I don't go to. There are things in there I'm forcing myself to forget…

Slowly, focusing on shoving those things in the box, and locking it again, I felt better, my breathing evening out.

I will not let this control me… Those things do not control me.

* * *

It was another few hours before we reached the Ninjago City Docks, mostly because of how bad the storm was. Lloyd stumbled out onto the deck, hood down, embracing the light trying to shine through a thick layer of clouds. It was pretty unusual, him coming out onto the deck willingly.

"...I'm gonna try this one more time, Sky." He said softly, looking at the tall buildings that rested in the heart of the city. It was obvious he had been crying because how pale his face was, and how red his eyes were, but I wasn't about to tell him, let him know I knew. "Just one more time."

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. "Alright then, Lloyd. Let me show you how good this city can be." Ruffling his hair, I drug him by his wrist off the dock, leading him to the city's pavement. "By the time I'm done showing you around, you'll never want to go back."


	5. Chapter 5

Three hours. I don't know what I was thinking, dragging him into a museum, and saying 'we can look as long as you'd like'. Lloyd was fascinated by _everything_ we passed in the museum. Every few feet, he'd stop, and read, and ponder, before moving ahead.

"Amazing." He whispered, looking into a glass case at an Anacondrai sword, similar to the one dad had at home. "Dad's looks better, you know? More polished than this…"

"I guess they wanted to preserve the historical accuracy, Lloyd." I muttered, starting to get bored. Never had I expected him to be this much of a nerd over the Great Serpentine War, especially with how often Dad talked about it, recounting stories from 'the good old days'. Twirling my hair around my finger, I looked at it. You could see scratches, and dirt, and a bit of very old dried blood on the blade. Compared to the one Dad had, this was like a cast-off, some discount blade that was probably an imitation of the best there were. "How much longer do you want to stay here?" I asked, yawning. Somewhere around here, I could hear the faint buzzing of a radio, and muffled music. Maybe there were more people here than just us, and the man who welcomed us in. For a big museum with a new exhibit, it was really empty.

"Just a bit longer, Sky." He said, finger tracing the edge of the plaque with the description on it. His eyes seemed unfocused, and I wondered what he was thinking. "Then you can show me around some more…" Lloyd walked out of the room, and further down the hall, peering up at these massive tapestries that hung in the hallway. "People made those, can you believe it? All by hand…"

I rolled my eyes and flicked his head when I caught up to him. "People make lots of things. What makes these so different?" I looked at one and noticed what story it was telling. "Bunch of bull in them, you know."

"Legends, Skylor. They're legends. Not full of bull." He stopped in front of one, looking up at it. I watched him closely as his head tilted to the side. "Hey, that looks like-"

"Lloyd, these things are full of shit. Total shit. These legends, prophecies, they aren't real." I huffed, starting to drag him away, frowning. The last thing this trip needed was him thinking too deeply about what the tapestries meant.

"But that was the island, Sky. The island, and our home, and-" I couldn't take it anymore. I whirled around on him and gave him the strongest look I could.

"Lloyd," I started, speaking softly, hearing someone walking our way. "That may be home, but don't think about it. Don't think about the legends for five minutes, and just acknowledge that there is no more truth in a prophecy than there is in a fortune cookie." He looked away, and I gently tugged on his hair. "I'm sorry, but these 'legends', they're just too full of shit to take seriously."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "Really? You don't believe in this stuff? Dad sure does…"

"Dad's a nutcase." I retorted, following him as he dragged me deeper into dusty museum hell. "If you told him he was elected as Mayor of the Cloud Lands he'd believe you." We kept moving down the hall at the snail's pace, and I could feel someone watching us. Each time I looked though there was no one there. It made me paranoid though and I tried to rush him along.

It seemed to take forever before I actually saw sunlight again, he wanted to see everything, read about everything, it was like he wanted to just absorb everything in there and become a perfect little history book.

I got the kid a t-shirt, something he could wear just to remind himself that the city wasn't all bad. He was chattering excitedly about his favorite parts as we walked downtown, looking for a place to eat that _didn't_ serve noodles. We settled on a small pizza place, and he changed shirts in the bathroom, the summer heat too much for him to keep his hoodie on anymore. The grin on his face was something I hadn't seen in a long time. He wasn't the warrior in training anymore. He was Lloyd. The little kid brother I hadn't wanted but got anyway.

 _The one I felt that I had to protect._

I knew my father had plans for him, testing things out on him was easier than testing things out on a full-fledged member of his cult. He could glaze over anything by saying it was simply because he was his son, and he deserved better than the others. The worst part was, Lloyd would accept that as the truth. He was so blinded by the kindness our father had shown him that he could see no wrong in him. He also had not been permitted to know nearly as much as the rest of us. Telling him wasn't an option.

Watching him as he dug into his pizza, it was like watching him the first time we had dinner together, he scarfed his food down as if someone was about to take it away if he didn't. Smiling, I picked up mine, and took a bite. It was greasy as hell, and the cheese was perfectly melty, almost to the point of slipping off, and when I pulled away, a trail of cheese followed.

"So what do we do after lunch?" He asked between a bite, sipping his soda. I was spoiling him, the kid hadn't really had that much unhealthy stuff in years. I'm sure he'd be groaning later about it when the sugar in that soda caused him to crash and feel tired.

"I was thinking I could show you where we're staying, we can take a nap for a bit, relax and stuff, and then come back out and just walk around…" My mind was on high alert. "The city looks pretty great in the evening...right when all the lights come on." He nodded, still sipping at his soda. "Unless you have a better idea?"

"Well...I saw a comic book shop…" Of course. It was probably time to get him some more things to read. Dad had someone always go to get him the new issue of some comic, and he seemed to love them a lot…

"Okay then, we can go after we eat."

He grinned, and that childish side was peeking out. "Thanks!"

* * *

I looked up when the bell rang, thinking it was one of the guys, or maybe even Nya, telling me that Sensei was looking for me, or that there was some kind of trouble, or that we needed to figure out where we were going to tell Sensei we were looking for his nephew tomorrow. Thankfully, it wasn't. I smiled at them as the two walked in. "Welcome to Doomsday Comics! Anything I can help you with?" I sat behind the checkout counter, keeping an eye on who came in, and who left, and made sure no one made a mess while I was on duty.

The girl shook her head. "No, just came to pick up a few comics." The boy by her side was already hidden in the shelves, probably finding what it was he wanted. She leaned against the railing of the stairs, looking around.

As she went down the aisle, I frowned. I hadn't seen the kid for too long, but he was around the right age… I shook my head and looked down at the copy of the newest _Starfarer_ comic book, eyes only half-reading. I kept looking up, wanting to see what that kid's face looked like. When I looked down again, I saw the lady standing in front of me. she was maybe my age, and she seemed to have a permanently disinterested face. "Look, do you have any more copies of the latest issue of _Starfarer_?"

"Are there none on the shelf?" I asked, setting my copy down. "If not, then no, we're probably out. The next shipment comes in about a week or so from now?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "Won't be in town then. Are you sure you don't have any in the back? My little brother is gonna get so bored if he can't get another comic book…" She glanced back at the aisle and gave me a pleading look. "He's seriously the biggest Starfarer nerd out there."

"Hey!" He said, poking his head around the aisle. "I'm not a nerd! I'm a Star Cadet!" I looked at him, and my eyes went wide. Older, yeah, but every feature seemed to match up perfectly with the photo Sensei had shown us. Blond hair was shaggier, but it was the right color. He frowned at me. "...Why are you looking at me like that?"

I blinked and shook my head. "Sorry...you look a lot like someone-"

"Well, he's not. He's never met you before." The girl snapped, frowning. "Just check if there are any more copies, please…"

The boy walked over, and as he got closer, it was clearer that he _had_ to be the right kid, that this pipsqueak had to be Lloyd. In my pocket, my phone buzzed. "Lemme check." I said, holding up a finger, practically running into the back room to check. It was a text from Sensei.

 _ **Lloyd's mother said she saw him in the city today.**_

I swallowed, glancing back at them. I scribbled a note down and walked back out. "Look...there aren't any more copies back there, but I can give you mine." I smiled, and the kids' face lit up. "Lemme just bag it up and get you the protective cover and stuff. It's a limited edition one...better keep it safe." I said, taking my copy into the back, grabbing the stuff to make a 'Collector's Kit' for him. I opened it up, sticking the note inside. As I slipped it in the protective sleeve, I threw it in the bag, smiling as I went back out. "Here, kid. Consider this a gift from one Star Cadet to another." His grin was huge as he took the bag.

"Thank you!" He waved goodbye as he walked out with the lady, and I pulled out my phone.

 _ **I Think I saw him too. He was with some red head girl.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm fairly certain this is my longest chapter for this story yet XD I hope you guys like it. things are definitely picking up.**

* * *

Chapter Six

I hadn't known that dad had an apartment in the city, but apparently Skylor was very much aware of it, and she led me a fire escape to it, saying she liked going in that way more than the inside stairway or by elevator. I could see why. Going up this way, you could see over the whole city, and the winds felt great.

Inside the apartment was cool too, it was...the exact opposite of home. It was minimally decorated, and very bland, actually. I guess Dad didn't stay here too much either, because there was a feeling of it being sterile and clean, and bright. Skylor walked down the hallway, and opened a door for me, showing me a small white room, my bag sitting on the bed. "Here's your room. Bathroom's right next door, I'm at the end of the hall." She seemed tired, but kept a smile on her face. "Wash up, take a nap, read your comic book, whatever." I watched as she left, closing the door behind her. Taking a seat on the bed, I pulled out the comic book from my bag, the last issue, as a refresher before I read the newest one. I sank into the mattress, and opened it, swinging my body so I was laying down on the soft comforter, light coming in from the window, warming the bed pleasantly.

"Episode 227; Fritz Donnegan versus the Imperial Sludge…"

* * *

I picked at my nails as I waited, tapping my foot. He was late. If he took up any more of my time, I'd have to find a way to make him work to get the answers he wanted out of me, or to get whatever he was coming to request from me, and I knew he wanted something from me, otherwise, he wouldn't have called saying he needed to see me. No, there had been an urgency to his voice, he wanted something, and he wanted it fast.

I could see a boat getting closer to the dock, and crossed my arms, standing up a little straighter. He was finally here. Almost, anyways.

It took a while before the boat made it and he got off, looking at me. He was much more different than I had expected, taller, darker...he looked more like a true dark lord now. I grinned.

"Welcome back, Lord Garmadon." My grin only grew wider as I looked him over, noting his posture. He was tired, scared almost, and something very deep inside made me think he felt defeated. "It's been quite some time since you came to visit your Sensei…! What's the occasion?" I turned my back, walking back towards my home. I could hear his clunky footsteps on the dock behind me. He was following, good…

"I would like to discuss this in private." He said, catching up. "It's...a lot to ask of you. And I know you already have a price in mind for it."

A giggle slipped out, and I nodded enthusiastically, leading him down to the study. "You doooo know me well~" I closed the door behind him, giving him a dark grin, grabbing a few papers off my desk, each sealed in an envelope. "I require someone to deliver these...to the ninja."

Garmadon looked at the envelopes, frowning. "The ninja? Why?"

"Don't ask questions of your Sensei, Garmadon. That was always always ALWAYS lesson one!" I shoved them into his arms. "I need them and that's all you need to know. Now! What do you need help with?"

He was silent as he stashed the letters into his bag, looking forlorn for a moment, solemn and still, like a statue. "It's...my son. He's been missing for a long time, I need your help to find him."

"My help finding your son?" I thought about it, pondering the idea. "Why do you think I'll be able to help you find him?" Another giggle slipped out. If he only knew…

"Because I know you have skills in finding people."

I nodded, looking down at the remaining letters. "I'll try to find him then."

It seemed to be enough, and he left a picture of a small young boy, with chubby cheeks, and a bright smile, wearing a school uniform. This must've been what he looked like when they had left him at that school. Turning his back, I watched as he left, holding the letters now.

He thought he had help, but truly, I would be leading him on a wild goose chase all around Ninjago. Anything it took to keep him from finding out that I had his son.

I muttered to myself, pacing the study. "If Garmadon wants him then there must be some chance that he knows about the boy's powers, but how? We only found out about his powers a year after he arrived! When he was fighting against Skylor!"

"Perhaps he _doesn't_ know, Master Chen…" Clouse had snuck in at some point, and walked towards me silently. "Perhaps he merely wants his son back…"

I waved him off, pacing still, getting a bit dizzy. "Nonononono, he wouldn't want a kid around, especially one like Lloyd. Not unless he knew about those powers." I giggled. "He'd want to covet the very powers that could lead to his own downfall…" Garmadon would, he'd very likely put himself in a position to be destroyed by those he loved. He was soft. He had always been too soft.

And I had always know that for a fact, it would indeed be his downfall.

* * *

I looked at the note in my hands, frowning. Had this been left for me, or had it been left for the guy back at the comic book shop?

 **Call 765-555-2984. We need to talk. It's important -Jay W.**

Shivering a little, I shoved the note into the bottom of my bag, and left the comic book on my bed. Slowly rising and walking towards the door, I stretched, back popping as I slipped out into the hall. Skylor had left her bag in the living room, I could see it from here, and I walked towards it.

I needed to know more about what I had seen in the museum. Skylor may have insisted it was nothing, that it was all fairytales, but I couldn't brush it off as that, not yet. Pulling out her laptop and booting it up, I glanced towards her door, it was shut, and I didn't hear her moving around, she wasn't training, or playing music or anything, which made me think I still had time to do this.

The log in screen came up, and I pecked my fingers against the keys silently, plugging in the right numbers and letters for her password. **Sk1loaer**. A weird way of typing her name that she had always used for everything that needed a passcode. Hacking into her stuff was some of the easiest things I had to do, and even if I wasn't proud of it, dad had me do it several times before. It lt me in, and I double clicked on the internet button, pulling up a no-history, private browsing session. Typing in the museum's name, I found their website, complete with information about their exhibit pieces. Specifically, the Lore and Mythos of the Green Ninja. That was definitely what I wanted to see, what I wanted to look into. Clicking on that, I found a small opening paragraph, describing the exhibit we had spent so much time in.

 _The mythology behind the Green Ninja is scarcely known, even to a majority of Ninjean scholars. This exhibit covers and uncovers secrets of a mystery lost to the ages, featuring beautifully hand-woven tapestries, depicting the tale of a prophecy. According to the scroll found, one ninja will rise above the rest and become the green ninja, with powers beyond those of the others. This prophesied ninja is supposed to have the powers of the first Spinjitzu master, and will be the one who banishes darkness from the land. This exhibit is carefully curated by on of Ninjago's top scholars, Misako Garmadon, who is also presenting the current exhibit on the Serpentine Wars, and the involvement of the mysterious "Elemental Masters". She hopes that by releasing her notes and the artifacts she has discovered, that there will be a little bit of light shed on the mystery of the legend._

I frowned, scrolling through the collection, pouring over the tapestries. There were some here that hadn't even been in the museum today, beautiful pictures taken, showing the details, the battle scenes, everything in detail.

"What are you doing?" I snapped my head up, Skylor standing in the doorway, watching me. There was a glare on her face. I looked down at the clock. It had been over an hour since I started reading up on the legend. "And how did you get on my laptop?"

She was mad now, I could see it in the way she redid her ponytail, letting the elastic snap back into place loudly. "I um...I just wanted to-" she walked over, reading over my shoulder. I knew there was no point in trying to hide it from her. "I wanted to know _more_." She sat down next to me on the couch, and sighed. "I just wanna know…"

Skylor played with the ends of her ponytail, not looking at me as she closed the computer. "You've always wanted to know. You wanted to know why we took you in, and then it was what you could do to make it up to us, what you could do to prove your worth. After that, it was what is this power, and what can I do. And now...now you're getting to a point where it's dangerous, where one misstep could ruin you and your life." She looked at me, her brown eyes tired, showing a soul older than she was, trapped inside. "I'm trying to protect you, Lloyd."

"I'm fourteen. I don't need protection." I insisted, crossing my arms. Her laptop beeped as it powered down. "I'm capable of taking care of myself."

"Are you really?"

Those three simple words struck a chord in me. Couldn't I? I could decently defend myself, and I could cook a few simple meals...but when it came to the real world, off the island…

"If we left you here for a month, with no help, could you take care of yourself?"

The answer was simple. "Not really…"

"Then let me protect you, okay? Let me make sure you're okay."

I was silent for a moment, and so was she, before I nodded. "Okay, Skylor."

* * *

 **Now...will Lloyd let her take care of him, protect him? what's going to be his future?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Soooorry for not updating last week. Rehearsal ran late and I was wiped out DXNext week will also possibly be the last update until late march. Sorry. Musical is too close.**

* * *

Chapter Seven

I sighed, rubbing my shoulder as I carried my laptop into my room. Lloyd was meditating in the living room, and he insisted I leave him alone while he did. Closing the door behind myself, I tossed it onto my bed.

Lloyd didn't need to know this apartment was something I had saved up for and paid for on my own, that this was a place dad didn't even know I had.. My phone chirped loudly, and I looked down at it. It was a text from my boss. **Can you come in?** Answering it, I shook my head, glancing back at my door.

 **Can't. Babysitting little brother. Can do double articles-editorial on museum exhibit sound good?** I had taken the job up with the Ninjago National paper last summer, back when dad first brought up the idea of Lloyd taking on the mark. I'd reached out to the man running the paper, and he had offered me the job, especially when I said it was for paying for a place to stay, to keep my "little brother" safe. Part of that storytelling may have involved fudging Lloyd's age, saying he was younger than he actually was. Which, if he met him, one, he wouldn't associate him as my brother, and two, Lloyd was still pretty short for his age, meaning he could easily just pull off "gymnast 11 year old" well if he was warned that's what I'd said. Not like I could really tell him that I had been trying to set up a second life for us, in case things with dad turned sour fast, and I needed to find a way to take care of him.

My boss was fast with their reply. **Two on the exhibits sound good enough to me. How soon?**

 **By Friday.** It was currently Monday, and I knew dad wanted us to come home on Saturday morning, with all the weekly reports from his restaurants. If I worked on it tonight, it wouldn't be hard to get two done. I could easily get Lloyd to help me out with those. Maybe then I could explain to him about what this place _really_ was. Afterall, I suppose since things were fast arriving, he would have to be told sooner than I had originally planned.

Opening up my laptop, I settled against the pillows of my bed, and opened up a new document, setting all the right parameters.

 **Museum Visit: Serpentine Wars Exhibit**

 **By Editor S.**

 **The concept of the Serpentine Wars is something I'm fairly familiar with, having grown up in a house where this event was brought up countless times, as part of our heritage. My father himself collects things from this time, such as weapons, and old bits of armor, but unlike him, the museum has left them untouched, and in the shape they were in when they were found. Their swords aren't polished, aren't perfectly flawless, they show their age and the wear and tear of this fierce battle.**

* * *

As soon as Skylor had closed her door, and I was sure she wouldn't come back for a while, I slipped down the hall again to my room, going to grab the sticky note that I'd found in the comic book. Looking over it again, I shoved it into my pocket, fishing some change out from the depths of my bag, and went over to the fire escape again. The breeze felt great up here.

Climbing down the stairs, jumping from the last landing to get to the city street below, I shuffled down the sidewalk. I remembered that we'd passed at least three or four phone booths on our way to the apartment, but _where_ they were was something I didn't quite remember.

It was hot, and the breeze was lacking. I nearly gagged in the heat. Were all cities this hot? I didn't remember it ever being this hot on the island…

Eventually, four blocks and up a hill later, I found the phone booths. Another hot wind blew by as I slipped into the metal box. Inside here, it was nearly suffocating, and I had to keep the door open to not die as I paid the phone, dialing the number on the note.

One ring. No answer yet. I doubted it was even a real number now, just something stuck in there, some kind of scam, maybe…

Two rings. I could feel my heart beating fast, but I didn't have a good reason as to why. I put two fingers on my neck, feeling my pulse. Nervous, fluttery, jumpy…

Three rings. Surely no one was going to-

"Hello?" I froze. The voice on the other end of the phone was deep, and I could almost picture the kind of person it belonged to. Someone tall, burly, someone you'd look at and think they're probably a thug, but then they'd be a total squishy person on the inside. "Look, if this is a prank call…"

"..." I couldn't speak, and then the words tumbled out faster than I could control them. "...Someone told me to call this number. I-I found it on a sticky note in a comic…"

The person on the other end snorted as my voice cracked, and I shuddered a little. "What do you want, kid?" A door closed on their end, and I could hear someone walking towards them.

"I'm not a kid!" I said indignantly.

"You sure sound like one...stubborn, annoying, clearly you're young because your voice still cracks…" On that end, I could hear shuffling, the phone being passed from one person to the other.

"Kid? This you?" It was the same voice of the guy from the comic book store. His words were going a mile a minute. "Are you okay?" There was an urgency to his voice. "Can you meet up with us somewhere? Where are you?"

I frowned, holding the phone close, leaning on the wall. "Who are you?" A second question popped out right as he tried to say something. "And why do you want to meet me?"

They sounded a little shocked by my tone. "What do you mean 'what do we want'? Lloyd, your uncle has had us running crazy around Ninjago looking for you! For years!" I froze again, and it was like I had just plunged into the stream in the winter, chilled through and through. My uncle was the reason I had been off on my own, he left me, forgot me at the school after I was expelled, until the administrator had to kick me off the property, a kid alone in Ninjago, unnoticed, flying under the "kid-protection" radar… It had nearly killed me.

Because he couldn't put aside whatever he was doing for thirty minutes to just come get me, he hadn't searched anywhere for me when I was out on my own, trying to survive. I didn't know where he lived.

"Kid?" They asked again. "Look you gotta tell us where you are, so we can come see you…"

I slammed the phone back on the hook, slumping down the side of the box, curling up. I didn't trust them now, not if they were with my uncle. My father's words crept back into my mind.

' _They only want you for your power…'_ That's what he had told me once he found out about my powers, when I had accidentally blown out every lightbulb in the stairway. The didn't care about me, they wanted my powers. They only wanted to covet them was a curse that would follow me all through life, as long as people knew about them.

I needed to get back to the apartment, before Skylor noticed I was gone, before they could track me to this phone booth, before they could figure out where I was. I wouldn't put it past them to attempt kidnapping me.

"Get up.." I muttered to myself as I stood, running out of the booth. I had to get out, use every back alley in Ninjago to get to the apartment and avoid cameras, but I made it somehow. My heart was pounding, and even in the sweltering afternoon sun, I felt cold and clammy, sick.

I needed a shower. Something to get this all away from me, something to get it all out of my mind.

* * *

Fanmail was something we were used to getting, especially being the ninja who saved the city a few times, but finding four letters addressed in the exact same script, all saying the same thing? That was freaky. It was late, but I leaned over my bed, looking at my brothers. "...should we go?"

Jay gave me a look, and shrugged. Below, I could hear Zane was fast asleep, his programming made him keep a pretty strict routine when it came to sleep, and we could easily catch him up in the morning. "Maybe? I don't know what we'll tell Sensei, Kai. Because, and I'm not sure you read yours but it said _not_ to tell anyone?"

"And you know that'll freak everyone out,Jay." Cole chimed in. "We gotta let them know _somehow_ , so in case things get bad, we can have back up to depend on."

I rolled onto my side, turning my back on them. "We can talk with Zane about what to do in the morning then, I guess…"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I'm loving the feedback you guys give! XD Some of it is so hilarious!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Late March, mid June...Same thing, right? XD**

 **Sorry for the delay, I was finishing up high school and graduating and everything and hustling to pass math class, so you understand updating was FAR from a priority.**

 **How does everyone feel about OC stories? I know I have issues with them being...repetitive and bland, but I think this time I'm willing to cross post one of mine on here, it's the girl from Inexplicably Fortuitous if that sweetens the deal. ^.^**

 **Let me know in the comments, along with what you think about the chapter and what YOU think is gonna come next!**

* * *

Chapter Eight

Even after a long, hot shower, scrubbing my skin until it was pink, I felt disgusting. Worse than the sickening feeling the call had left in its wake was the feeling of numbness that lasted until the late hours of the night. Skylor had gone to bed hours ago, but here I was, still laying on my back on the bed, staring up at the darkened ceiling. All I could hear, all I could think about were those words.

They've been looking for me.

After all these years, they still were looking for me. They still wanted me.

Father's words slid back into my mind, back into focus. They only wanted me for my powers, not for who I was. That had to be it. Still...if they really were looking for me, I wouldn't be safe if I stayed in the city. They knew I was here now. They would never give up looking now.

I knew what I had to do.

Once again, I found a phone downstairs in the lower levels of the apartment complex. A dusty old payphone that had seen better days. Glancing around nervously for any cameras, I picked up the phone, dialing fast. Calling dad, calling home.

No answer.

'Why did I expect one?' I asked myself. It was late, and he was probably asleep, or doing business things, or he was with his followers. It was nothing personal against me. He told me he'd never ignore me on purpose. Never.

The phone went through its litany of inane instructions before it beeped loudly, reminding me I could leave a message.

"Dad," My voice was shuddering, and I hadn't been aware of how hard my heart was pounding before I started talking. "I need to call you back, the ninja know I'm here. They've seen me. They're after me." My hands were shaking now. I couldn't control it anymore. I had to admit it, no matter how much I hated it. I was terrified.

* * *

In the morning, when Skylor wasn't looking, I tried my luck again, calling once more in the basement of the building, out of the sight of any possible cameras, away from any prying eyes.

Needless to say, he was livid. He had put me on speaker, and I could practically hear him pacing in his office. Soft hums of disapproval to the side let me know Clouse was there too, listening, plotting. He was always...thinking. Always putting himself four steps ahead of the other people in a situation. A survival skill not too many had.

"This isn't safe. Both of you need to come home now!" Dad cried, and it was just like being there with him. I could picture how he looked, frazzled, throwing his hands into the air with frustration. "I cannot let them have you!"

Clouse cleared his throat, stepping closer. "Wouldn't it look suspicious if he left and they find him at ease here? It might tip off the ninja about your plans…"

It was silent on that end for longer than I was comfortable. After at least a minute, I heard Clouse speak again, taking a step closer to my father. "Perhaps we lure them here using Lloyd…"

"What plan are you talking about?" I asked, voice cracking, squeaking just slightly. "Are you saying to use me as bait?"

"Clouse that's an excellent idea!" My father talked right over me, clapping his hands excitedly. "If they're that invested in finding him, putting on a show for them, getting him to safety while making them think he's in danger, it's the perfect insurance policy!"

"Excuse me?" My eyebrows shot up, and I pulled back a bit. "Father, what are we going to be doing?"

"Alright, Lloyd. Listen closely, this is what is going to go down…"

* * *

It was exciting when Lloyd called back, and explained what had happened. The girl he was with had been helping him escape his captors, she was protecting him, while also trying to indulge him in desires he had, things he had been denied for years. Which explained the trip to the comic book store, and the museum, sort of. Lloyd claimed that he had to end the call because she said they had been spotted, that they had to get out of there fast.

We told him he'd be safer coming to live with us, and even though he was hesitant and reluctant, he agreed. His guardian said she'd meet us in the park in the city, in the afternoon when it was most crowded. She said that the people after them wouldn't try to come after him in such a public space.

What none of us had been prepared for was the festival that was going on in the park. It was more crowded than normal, people going from booth to booth to see the art, to see what the vendors were selling, or to see whatever small side show there was. There were games, and all sorts of entertainers out, capturing the attention of a number of people.

We were glad now that we agreed it to be a small meeting, that if all of us went, it'd be suspicious. It was just Kai and I, and even we were having trouble sticking together in the crowd.

"We're never gonna find them in this place, Kai. It's next to impossible!" He was still looking around, a few inches taller than me, but enough to see a bit more over the heads of the crowd. "Do you see them?"

"I'm looking. You'd think it wouldn't be hard to find someone with bright red hair…"

"Uh, I have red hair." I joked, grinning. "So you gotta look harder. There can't be that many of us."

"Not bright red hair like the photo you showed me." Kai said, looking harder. We managed to make it to a less crowded space, and I shuddered, looking at the dancers. Their face paint was disturbing at best, clownish at worst. "Oh man, I hate clowns."

Through the earpiece, I heard Zane. "Those are not clowns. They're Kabuki." His falcon had been circling the area periodically. "I still do not see them either. Perhaps they are in disguise?"

"Oh great." Kai started, shaking his head. "Not only do we not know how to contact them, but they could look nothing like the picture we have of them."

"Gotta think positively here…" I said, looking around, scanning the crowd. "The kid's short. Maybe we're missing him because we're looking up instead of down."

Kai snorted, but as I led us through the crowd, trying to get away from the clown-people, I heard someone whistle, my head snapping to that direction. There was a person behind a simple mask peering at us, crooking their finger for us to come to them. Their hair was covered, but they were the right height. "Kai...I think that's her." As I changed directions to head that way, someone pushed a cart of fireworks in front of me, cutting me off. "Uh, rude!"

The man didn't look up, just kept going by us, heading through the crowd slowly, and when I looked to where the figure had been, they were gone. Kai groaned. "Now how are we going to find them?"

"They couldn't have gone far." I reasoned, leading him in that direction. "Now whine less, accomplish more, please." The earpiece clicked. "Zane did you see where they went?"

"I did, they're not too far from where you are. Check behind the game with the large and obnoxious plush animals. I believe that's where they're heading."

I looked at Kai. "See? More things get done the less you whine."

The walk over there was pretty short. Behind the booths there were way fewer people, making it easier, if not quieter. The tall stalls buffered the noise from the people and the music, making it easy to find them.

As we approached the masked figure, they pulled the mask and hood off, and smiled. "Nice to see you again. And look at that…" She stepped towards Kai, reaching a gloved hand to touch his arm. "You brought a friend…"

"Where is he?" We had agreed not to use names in public, but that wasn't going to stop us from making this a quick mission.

She looked back towards the crowd. "He said he was going to watch one of the performers, the acrobat I think. I figured he'd be safe as long as he stuck with a crowd…"

"Seriously?" I said, crossing my arms. "He could be in danger!" I turned to see why Kai was being so calm. He was staring at her, in a daze. I snapped my fingers in front of his face. "C'mon loverboy. We have a kid to go find."

"No thanks for getting him out of there to begin with?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Not until we get him to safety." I said, and took off to go back to the crowd, Kai staying behind a bit. "Kai, c'mon!" I looked back to see the hold up and saw him rub the back of his head.

"Duty calls. I'd like to see you around more…?"

She smiled coyly at him, her gloves off now, and she slipped them into her pocket, touching his cheek. "Skylor. I'll see you around, Kai." She nodded at me, taking off.

"Kai, come on!" I shouted, doubling back to grab his arm, dragging him back into the crowd. I scanned by the acrobats, desperately searching for someone in the same hoodie as yesterday, someone blonde, anything. "Split up, whoever sees him first call the other once you get him somewhere-"

"Let go of me!" A voice shouted out from the crowd, and I could see a scuffle going on. Someone in a black hoodie versus an older guy. Short. Young.

Lloyd.

"That way. Head them off, Kai. I'll try getting straight there." I wove my way through the crowd, towards Lloyd. "Hey! Let him go!" the man holding onto him glanced back at me, glowering, before taking off, dragging Lloyd behind him, the kid stumbling and trying to pull away.

Running towards them, I saw the man shove the fireworks cart towards me, fuses lit, hissing loudly. My eyes went wide, and people gasped, darting away as they went off. The sound was deafening.

"Jay! You have to-" Zane cut out, and an eerie silence came after the fireworks finished crackling and putting out sparks.

I looked around for Kai in the sea of shocked faces. "Kai?" I shouted, standing shakily. "Kai where are you?!" I felt like panicking. Where was he. Where did the man go? "Zane where's Kai? Can you see him?" He didn't respond. There was a buzzing from the ear piece, and I groaned. The signal was gone.

Worse, so was Lloyd.

* * *

 **You thought things would go smoothly? Have you _met_ me?**

 **As always, feedback is REALLY important to me, as it lets me know if people are enjoying this story!**

 **Also! If You Haven't, I VERY MUCH RECOMMEND Checking out this fic: A Reason To Murder** by **KairiVenomus. It's super good and probably one of the best college AUs I've seen! (also bc she works v hard on it and I wanna support my friend via shoutout)**

 **are shoutouts something you guys would like to see as well?**


	9. Chapter 9

**So...this is late. To be fair, I did just move myself 3 hours away into a tiny concrete box and now share a bathroom with three strangers, and have 15 hours of class every week. Plus a job.**

 **But Hey, at least I have the start of a sequel so this AU isn't going away any time soon. :) ...I might've started it already. It's nicknamed "Never had a friend like me" (all things start with song lyrics, don'cha know.)**

* * *

Chapter Nine

The firecrackers had been a nice touch. Loud enough to give us time to get away, bright enough to disorient a crowd, and threatening enough to know things were serious.

I watched the ninja take off after the van they thought we were in, when really, it was just one man driving it, alone. By the time they'd catch up, I'd be long gone.

They hadn't notice that the person holding me, Zagu I think, let go when the cart went in front of the ninja, and as they exploded, I slipped behind a stall, doubling back to where the Kabuki were. Dad's staff, sent in on an emergency boat to make sure things ran smoothly here. I sat in their makeup tent for a while before Clouse came and got me out of there, leading me to a taxi that took us to the docks.

Skylor was waiting for us, she had gone back to get my stuff. Her part in dad's plan wasn't finished yet. She still had ninja to court, to get their trust.

I smiled at her as I pulled my bag onto my back. "I'll be fine, Skylor. And you were right...the city is pretty okay. Just some of the people…"

She shook her head, messing up my hair. "Just take care of yourself, okay? Keep a low profile."

"On the island? That won't be hard, sis. It's just dad, Clouse and the staff."

She pursed her lips, and glanced at Clouse, who was making sure everyone made it aboard who needed to go aboard, before looking back at me. "They didn't tell you the full plan, and I really doubt they will, Lloyd. Whatever you do, don't-" Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Clouse walking over. "I'll see you in a few days." With that suddenly stiff and cold goodbye, she took off down the docks, heading back into the city.

' _Don't what?'_ I wondered, letting Clouse guide me onto the ship. "So what happens when I get back?"

Clouse hummed thoughtfully, signaling for two of the staff to pull the board up, and for the captain to head out to sea. "Well, you'll be playing your part as prisoner in a few days, once the tournament starts…"

"Okay...so does that mean I'm competing…?"

He shook his head, leading me inside the hull. "No, not at first. You'll be the bait, to make them cooperate. Once things are set, Chen will explain your part in this."

I raised an eyebrow. "My part? I'm more than bait?" I wasn't _too_ surprised, but it was interesting. What did Skylor mean though, about them not telling me everything.

"Your powers are what will set all of your father's plan off. Once the tournament is almost over, he'll ask you for your help." He smiled, gesturing for me to take a seat. "For now, just relax."

I sat down, fiddling with the strap of my bag. "Okay…" For once, I wished Skylor was here, I wished she could've explained everything. What did she know that they didn't want me to find out about? The boat lurched as it came to life, and I could hear the paddlewheel sloshing in the water, pressing my hand over my mouth, looking out the window.

* * *

The docks are fairly far from the center of the city, and of course, the bus was going fairly slow back into town as well. I rolled my eyes, leaning into the seat. Two stops before I could get off and make it to the park. Looking out the window, I rubbed my shoulder, worried. ' _There's no way dad would do it, not to Lloyd. There's just...no way he'd do this. There's no way he'd drag him down too…'_ Would he though? He was psychotic enough to do it to me a few years ago, and everyone knew how he felt about kids… I looked at my phone, turning it over in my fingers a few times. Lloyd needed to know the truth. Clouse knew what I was trying to do, he knew exactly what he was interrupting when he walked over.

My only chance now would be to get home before they tagged him, roped him into this. I could help him hide, even if it was somewhere on the island. That abandoned village, that would work. There were so many nooks and crannies on the island, surely there'd be a way to hide him where dad and Clouse couldn't find him...

I was lucking out when I rounded the corner, finding the ninja walking away, all of them. This was the first time I got a good look at all of them, and I raised an eyebrow, walking towards them, catching my breath. My heart was pounding, whether it was from running or something else, I wasn't too sure. "Any sign?"

The one from the comic book store, Jay I think, he shook his head, rubbing his neck. "Not a sign. Where did you go?"

"Tried to head them off, figured if they came from the docks, they'd go back there…No dice." That got some eyebrows. "What? I _rescued_ him, remember? We agreed to meet up there. Figured he came in off some kind of ship."

"Then we need to go there, figure out which ships left and when." The blond said. He had a serious demeanor, and his eyes were focused. "We've searched every block for about a mile around this park."

"Then what are we waiting for?" The hot head from earlier said, crossing his arms. "Let's find him and save him, before he gets hurt."

I nodded. "Let's head out then. I want him to be safe just as much as you do." They started down the sidewalk and I followed behind them.

He needed them more than ever, even if he didn't like them. I wasn't going to be able to do this on my own.


	10. Chapter 10

**Nothing is as fun as getting bitten by the inspiration bug. Totally was on a roll the past 2 days! Not only have I written a ton for this but I might have sort of...started the sequel. The idea bug hits hard and when it does I either write what I picture then and there, or I lose it, so...**

* * *

Chapter Ten

By the time we stopped, the moon was high in the sky, and Skylor looked horrified as we stood on the sidewalk, rubbing her arm. "I at least owe you guys food. It's the least I can do after how much you've helped out…" She gave a weak smile, but it was strained. Can't imagine how she must be feeling, considering what she told us about Lloyd, and how they'd even met to begin with. "Anyone here _not_ a fan of noodles?"

Cole smiled at her, touching her arm. "We'll find him. It's just a matter of time before whoever took him slips up. For now...noodles sound good. We need to recharge...You got a place to stay tonight?" She nodded, and walked down the sidewalk, leading us towards one of the few places still lit up.

"Yeah...have a small apartment in the city." She turned and walked backwards, so she could keep talking to us. As we kept walking, she eventually turned back around, moving out of the way of two guys, but apparently not fast enough to keep one from body checking her. "Hey, watch it!" She said, frowning, eyeing them as they walked away. "Worst part about the city, rude people like that." There was something in her pocket though, hanging out. She kept walking after shooting one last nasty look at the people, and as I glanced back, they were long gone.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing. "Love letter from someone?"

She seemed surprised, looking down at the folded up piece of paper hanging out of her pocket. "I...I don't know." She pulled it out, unfolding it as she slowed down. "...You're gonna want to see this." Skylor held it out, the carefully folded piece of paper was smudged with ink, and was scrawled out in nearly illegible handwriting, and in the corner there was something brownish-red that had fallen onto the page in small circular splotches.

"Is that…?" Kai let the question hang in the air.

Zane nodded. "Blood, and most likely Lloyd's...It's been awhile since this was written."

If you want to see me

Come to the docks

Tomorrow at 11.

Alone.

No Weapons.

Please.

She seemed to be in a state of shock, holding the paper with shaking hands. "They made him write this...that's his handwriting, when he uses his right hand." She chewed her lip, and I could see worry on her face. "Those thugs...they had to have been involved."

"We can talk while we eat. There's not much we can do now, not until tomorrow…" I nodded, walking in beside Cole. The noodle house was pretty much empty, just a few people scattered about in different booths. "He's strong enough to survive whatever's happening."

Skylor nodded, sitting down. She folded and unfolded the paper. "I promised him he would be safe…" She looked at us, tucking it away in her pockets. "We need to save him. I don't know who has him, or what they might do...but from what he told me, it could be more than just his safety at risk."

"We'll do everything we can." Kai reached across, touching her hand. "He's got all of us looking for him. We'll find him, and we'll kick the asses of anyone who hurt him." He grinned, and I rolled my eyes. Now was _so_ not the time for Kai to be Romeo. Right now, we had noodles to eat, and we had a kid we had to save.

* * *

Dreaming about those nights, those were always the worst. They were nights I felt the least in control about myself, about my life. I'd wake up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath, and would find myself unable to put myself back to sleep for the rest of the night. I'd wake up screaming, and someone would usually come check on me-most of the time, it was Skylor. She was always close by.

Just...not tonight.

The shakiness wasn't subsiding, I couldn't breathe. Even with the lamp on, it wasn't enough to get rid of the shadows of what happened in the past.

Skylor used to tell me I was a fighter, that if I wasn't, there would've been no way I'd have survived this long. We had a bond closer than any friends could. Stomach still lurching, I knew what I had to do. Getting out of bed, I snuck towards my door, into the hallway. It was silent. Good. If anyone caught me calling her, I might not be able to get the answers to the questions I needed from her, considering how Clouse was all too quick to cut her off earlier.

Nearing my father's office, I heard someone behind me, and whirled, pressing myself against the wall behind a pillar. Had they seen me? Was this game over before it began?

"Master Lloyd…?" It wasn't a guard, or Clouse, just one of the Kabuki. She walked towards me, holding a candle. "Are you alright?" There was a look of worry on her face as she stepped closer. "We heard you scream earlier, and when we saw you weren't in your room…"

"I...I'm fine." There was a sour taste in my mouth. No one waited that long to check on me usually. No one. "Just had a bad dream...was taking a walk to clear my head." My body was shaking, and she frowned, touching my shoulder, leading me back towards my room. "H-hey I can do this myself!"

"We just were worried, especially after what happened earlier this week…We were afraid the ninja had come after you."

"How would they even know?" I smirked. "We played them, they thought they were going to get me, but for them to find me, it'll be nearly impossible. No one outside of our family knows about this island. It's a total secret."

She nodded, lips pursed. She wasn't buying this, and to be fair, I wouldn't either.

Calling Skylor was just going to have to wait, I suppose.

* * *

I was almost out when I heard a floorboard creak. I didn't have to turn around to know who was responsible for it. None of the ninja could have possibly been capable of being _that_ stealthy for _that_ long.

"Brother," He said, and I could already see his expression, even without turning around. "What brings you here this late?"

I turned to face him, he looked weak the way he was leaning on that staff. Stress and age were going to put him in an early grave. I gestured back at the table, where the stack of envelopes sat. "Delivering a message. It was just part of a deal."

He didn't say anything, lips pressed into a thin line. He knew exactly what kind of a deal it was without being told. When he had told me about what happened to Lloyd, I knew I needed to join the search. Plans be damned, there would be nothing worth ruling in Ninjago if my son couldn't be at my side. "From who?"

I didn't want to say it. After everything that happened when we were young, I didn't want him to know I had considered it at all. "Nobody important, just someone who said they might have a lead." I turned towards the door. "Goodbye, brother."

"Wait!" He grabbed my sleeve, pulling me back. "Garmadon, we need to fill you in on what's happened today. The ninja went to get Lloyd, they've seen him. He's alive, and doing alright from what we saw."

"This better not be a trick, brother." My eyes narrowed and I watched him carefully. He didn't seem to be lying.

He led me to where his teapot was, pouring me a cup. "They were meeting up with someone who they said was helping him escape from somewhere, but they were ambushed, and Lloyd is missing once again. The ninja are on their way back, they can tell you more."

I took the cup, looking at the tea. "...I want my son back, Wu. I don't care what your ninja have to say. Every second they're here blabbering is another second we are losing Lloyd. What if something happens to him, something we cannot fix. There are so many threats out there to him, Wu…" My heart felt like it was stopping, the idea that something could happen to Lloyd, something that none of us would be able to fix, it had tormented me for years. "Your ninja need to look harder."

I heard the door creak as it opened, the ninja's chattering spilling in from the hall. "They need to be taking this more seriously." I set the tea cup down, stepping away. "Give them those messages. I'm going to-"

"...Uh...what did we walk in on?" It was the blue blabbermouth himself. I looked at the ninja, and they were taking in the scene. "We have...some not so great news."

"Whose mail is that?" Kai asked, gesturing at the thick pile. "Thought mail came by earlier..."

"I was filling him in on what you told me earlier. He said someone told him to deliver those." There was a certain stare Wu exceeded at giving me, and I could still feel it. "I believe there is one for each of you."

They descended upon the pile like vultures, grabbing one each. They didn't have names on them, which made it easier, I supposed. "What news do you have?"

They paused, Kai halfway into his envelope. His eyes looked between his sensei, the others, and myself. "...Jay can tell you."

"Ahbababa-WHAT?!" He shrieked. "Don't put me on the spot like that!" He eyed the others, glancing at me with fear in his eyes. "Don't freak out."

That was never a good start. "What happened."

"Okay, so this is toooootally a long story, yeah?" He circled to the far side of the room, leaning against the wall, fidgeting. "This girl, Skylor, she rescued Lloyd from someone something like a week ago? Yeah? I think." He got fidgety-er, and he sped up. "Well she was helping us search for Lloyd after that fireworks cart exploded and when we were wrapping up for the night these thugs ran into her when we were walking to get some food, and they slipped a note into her pocket. Was hard to read, but she said it was Lloyd's handwriting, and it said something about come to this place at this time, yadayadayada…"

"Guys…" Kai was reading the letter in his hand before it caught fire, going up in smoke quickly. "Open yours, fast! It's about Lloyd!"

My eyes went wide and the ninja opened theirs at impressive speeds, Jay talking fast, reading it out loud before his could go up in smoke too. "Master Chen invites you to his tournament of elements, with the prize you can't refuse, the safety of little Lloyd…"

The room went silent, and in turn, each of their papers went up in smoke as well.

"Then I guess that settles it, boys. We're going to go compete, save Lloyd, and get back before anyone knows what's happened."

* * *

 **That's all I have for this update, but by the time I upload this, I should be done with chapter 11 too. I'm currently figuring out how much I plan to change, so...**

 **Please let me know how you feel about this chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Before we get into the fun part, I need to announce my new system for line breaks and perspective changes. One line stays a scene change, and stays the same characters. If it's TWO lines, that means we're changing characters.**

 **Musical inspiration for this chapter: Casual Bongos**

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Sore didn't even begin to describe how I was feeling this morning. My shoulder was burning, and so was every other part of me. Father said it would be all a part of the show, since he was expecting the ninja to be nosy and try finding me, hence the new wardrobe, the injuries from being told not to fight back, to make it look like I had escaped once already. If anything, the injuries would at least play with the story he had Skylor tell the ninja.

Still, even if they were arriving this evening, was it really necessary to lock me down in the caverns all day? My seven by five foot box wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. There wasn't even a window to let me know what time it was, or even to let any extra light in. I was getting fidgety, trying to soothe and ignore the pain from the marking and also keep my mind busy. There was absolutely nothing down here. It was dark except for the light from the hall, and it was also loud, the factory not being too far away. I could hear the machines running, gears grinding like they were overloaded, probably preparing for the ninja to arrive. Father always was fond of holding feasts for his guests…

I wanted to call Skylor this morning, since after my walk last night there had been guards stationed outside of my door, but even that didn't work out. Clouse had come to get me from my room, briefing me on the way down. Before I knew it, they were walking away, the door locked. Had I blacked out at some point, or had Clouse simply dimmed my experiences so I didn't have to suffer through them? It was hard to tell, and my brain felt fuzzy, but not the kind of fuzzy when he used magic on me; a different kind of fuzz.

I stood up, pacing the cell again. There were chains on one wall, facing the door. Clouse said they wouldn't use them on me, unless the ninja did manage to break me out, in which case I wasn't supposed to reveal my powers to them, because that would ruin their final plan, which would be for me to "escape" into the jungle, and for them to think they were racing against the clock to save me from my father's following. It was a genius plan, honestly. Made me wonder how long they had been planning it.

At some point I must've drifted off, because when I woke up the hall was dark. I guess that I slept for a long time, and it was getting pretty quiet in the cavern. Had I been _that_ sleep deprived that I ended up sleeping the whole day away? My stomach growled loud enough for that to be the truth and I sat up slowly. The mark on my shoulder didn't hurt anymore. Clouse must've come down and done something about it. In fact, none of my injuries hurt anymore, the ones I could see looked nasty, but they didn't hurt at all. It was almost like wearing the world's most realistic makeup.

Eventually, father came down to see me, smiling. "Clousey-Clouse just called, he said everything is on track, and that eeeeveryone is on board the ship! Things are going off sooo smoothly!" He grinned, and I saw he had brought food for me. As he sat across from me, he handed me the bowl. "I'll try to bring you something to do tomorrow; getting too much sleep won't be very good once the tournament is over!" He smiled, touching my hair gently. "Skylor said everything went smoothly with the ninja, that note we had you fake really had them convinced! So just play your part of the scared little boy and everything shall go fine." He kept talking about all his preparations as I ate, and honestly, I didn't mind. It was good, especially after being alone all day.

"Why do I have to be down here if only the ninja are competing?"

He laughed. "There are far more elements than just those the ninja have! So many more! Perhaps you'll be able to meet a few of them once they're out of the tournament, and down here!" That got him laughing too, and he grinned. "We have roughly sixteen people coming to our island to compete, and in the end, we'll be the real winners."

* * *

"Skylor…" Kai said, walking towards me. I leaned against the rail of the ship, looking out at the water. "You're here, good."

I smiled at him, but it was strained. Lloyd hadn't called and when dad said he was 'busy' that worried me more. Lloyd wasn't usually too busy that he couldn't talk, which made me wonder what was happening back on the island. Was there even a possibility that I could still get him out unharmed? "Yeah...I should've been honest last night. About having a power…"

"Wasn't really relevant was it... "He leaned on the rail with me, looking behind him. I turned, surprised to see his friends standing beside Lord Garmadon-I hadn't seen him since I was young, and even then, I doubt he saw me that time. This complicated things. "Look, we're going to find him, Skylor. Chen has him somewhere, we'll find him. It's only a matter of time, right? How big could this island be?"

Nodding in agreement, I moved closer, bumping his shoulder with my own. "You're right… can't possibly be as big as Ninjago." Even though it was the dead of summer, being close to him and the heat that radiated off of him was nice. Comforting, like the moment when you wake up and are simply surrounded by warm blankets, and there's no pressure to get up. "So your team...you're…" I trailed off, looking back at the others, then at Kai. I didn't know how to phrase it without sounding awkward, but he seemed to catch my drift.

"We're working with Lord Garmadon, yeah. He's Lloyd's father. He used to train under Chen, so he figures it'd help us get Lloyd back if we had someone who had been on his side, someone who already knows all of Chen's tricks." Kai glanced back as well, gesturing for them to come join us. "We need to be prepared for Chen to play dirty."

"Well then let's be ready to play just as hard as he is." I could see the island in the distance, and my stomach felt like it was filled with rocks. I needed to get away from these Ninja without raising suspicion to make sure Lloyd was okay. I needed to get him out, tonight.

If I couldn't get him out before the tournament started…I'd be too late to save him.

* * *

My father's theatrics were ridiculous. As he spoke, I stood in the back, trying to avoid catching his attention. I could feel Clouse's eyes on me, and part of me wondered how much he knew that I had warned Lloyd about, and if that meant they knew I was going to fight back. If anyone got off the island, it would be game over for my father until that person was found. He needed as many awoken elementals as possible, and the spell wouldn't work until he had them all. Sure, looking around I knew there were more missing, water for example, or wind, but if the elements weren't currently active, there would be no way to collect them.

Any minute now the Kabuki would file in to show us to our rooms, and I'd have my first shot at getting Lloyd out of here. Glancing at the ninja though—specifically the back of Lightning's head—I knew I would have a better shot just telling them the truth. Looking down at my hands, I sighed. There'd be no way to tell them without them coming across the truth. I liked them, really liked them. They'd be good friends if this wasn't the way things had to be, if I wasn't who I was. The minute they find out about my father, any trust, any relationship I had with them would be broken, and I'd be on my own to save Lloyd.

I rolled my eyes, laughing dryly, keeping it quiet. Telling them would lead to them losing trust in me, but if anyone would betray them to my father, it would be Lloyd. Even after a few days, even after I thought I had made a dent in his hero-worship by trying to tell him what was going to happen, he was infatuated with everything he did, and would do anything to prove his worth to him.

Even if that meant turning on the people who wanted to see him safe the most, turning against his own father.

The doors opened with a squeak, and I didn't even have to turn around, just listening to the quiet footsteps to know it was the Kabuki. My father was still talking, and I looked up, glaring at him. It seemed to throw him off, but he shook it off fast. "Now, if you would kindly follow my Kabuki servants to your quarters, you can settle in for a bit before we have a late supper. I'm sure some of you are hungry—isn't that right, master of Earth?" He chuckled, practically bouncing off his stage into the throng of masters, heading right for Cole. The ninja seemed to find it funny, elbowing and chuckling at the expense of your friend. "Yes, yes. We'll all enjoy a wonderful feast tonight! Noodles for everybody!"

One of the servants grabbed my arm, whispering to me quietly as she led me away. "Lloyd was sleep walking last night. I believe he had another night terror…" I knew her name, it was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't quite get it out. "He's alright now, simply waiting."

She opened the door to my room, smiling pleasantly. She had the same vapid stare they all did, and I wondered what happened to cause all of them to keep that jaded expression but also to play their roles as my father's entertainers. Something made me thing Clouse was behind it somehow, using magic to keep them content. "Please don't worry too much for master Lloyd, he's quite safe." She bowed, stepping out of my room and back into the hallway, shutting my door loudly.

My room had been cleaned up, and stripped of anything personal, which made me wonder if there was anything hidden for my father to spy on me with. It wouldn't surprise me if he had laced the others rooms with traps and bugs to keep himself one step ahead of anyone who might be figuring out his plot. I closed my eyes, trying to remember the way I had left things before. Where would he hide surveillance devices that he didn't want me to know about? My eyes slid across the wall towards the painting of my father. Of course, it was nearly too obvious. Walking over silently, I peered at the eyes. There was something behind them, or rather, nothing at all behind them, not even canvas; peepholes. How long had those been there? I shuddered, and walked to my closet, grabbing the role of masking tape, covering them up. That was a start at least.

Taking time to check every nook and cranny in my room, I could hear people talking in the room next to mine. Breaking the last hidden camera, I stepped out onto the balcony, leaning over the railing to listen in. It sounded like one of the ninja. Eyeing the balcony across, I stood on the railing, hopping over. The room was hot, and everything was in shades of amber and red, and on the wall across from the bed there was a fake lava panel. It had to be Kai's room.

"Garmadon said not to trust anyone, Kai. He seems pretty convinced this is gonna be a trap, that there's no way Lloyd is here." It was Cole. So the ninja were right next door. Interesting. I wondered if dad had planned that, thinking I'd tip him off if they caught on. Knocking on the frame, I stepped into the open doorway.

"This guy isn't playing around." I said, leaning on the frame. "He has Lloyd. The shirt I got him at the museum…it was left in my room." Not really, but I knew it was in my bag. I had made a point to grab it before leaving the apartment. Right now I needed to get them to play along until they found Lloyd, then they could get him out, and to safety. I rubbed my arm awkwardly, looking at them. "How do we know we can even trust Lord Garmadon?"

"We've been searching with his help for a long time." Zane said, sitting calmly on the edge of Kai's bed. "If it wasn't for his guidance, I don't think we'd have known as much about Lloyd as we do. Because of his help, we've had a rough estimate of what Lloyd would look like, as well as things he might still have been fond of."

"That's why I took jobs at two different comic shops; because he said Lloyd liked comics, and he used to send copies of Starfarrer to his school." Jay was lying on the bed as well, upside down, his head only inches above the ground. "Why? I mean sure the four arms are freaky, but why don't you trust him?"

Now was the time I either had to play my biggest card—something they might not even be aware about yet—or let it go as 'just a hunch'. "I mean…how do you know he's not in on this too?" I walked towards them, uncrossing my arms. Just keep breathing, in, out. I needed to sound calm. "The green ninja's the only one who could defeat him. And if the green ninja was with you…he'd have to fight."

Their eyebrows shot up. "Are you saying Lloyd's the green ninja? How do you know?!" Jay shouted, rocketing upright and wincing. He must've been upside down for quite a while.

"Because I saw him use his powers, the first night we got him out of wherever he was. Someone came after us and he blasted them away." That was sort of how his powers were revealed; he had gotten in a scuffle with a recruit, and blasted him across the courtyard. Freak accident but it had been enough to wake up his powers, and dad had done his best to figure out exactly what it was, and when he caught on, he knew he had the ultimate secret weapon."If Garmadon knew…he would do anything to have no obstacles in his way, wouldn't he?"

The room was eerily silent and uncomfortable now, the others glancing back and forth. It was a weak point, but I knew the closer I got to them, the more I'd need to cover myself. No one said anything until there was a knock on the door. "Must be dinner time…" Kai mumbled. He seemed to be in a state of shock of some kind. Numbness, maybe.

I headed for the balcony. "We better go back to our rooms…" I leapt across, heading to my own door, opening it before anyone even knocked. The Kabuki girl blinked, startled, but reached for my hand, leading me down the hallway to the dining room. I could see other masters, elements I had no clue to begin to identify walking ahead of us.

Time to wine and dine and get some help, some allies other than the ninja. If anything would keep my father from realizing I was ultimately against him that would be it. Being friendly, he'd see that. Being too chummy, that would make him suspicious. Or, it would alert Clouse, who would use my father like a puppet and then he'd be unpredictable—more so than usual.

* * *

 **Another exciting chapter! Cannot wait to start rewriting the tournament. Certain things change, but in general, it will stick close to the actual show itself.**

 **Like always, feedback makes writers more motivated to write and the more motivation that I have, the more I write, so the more you get to read, and that'll get us closer and closer to the exciting climax of the story and then into the sequel! (which really needs a better title than "Never had a friend like me" bc while that's a cute project name, it's not title worthy...)**

 **I will confirm that there is to be a oneshot that takes place in this timeline that will be titled "What Comes Next?", which will have a very dreamy feeling, and will also be posted before the sequel starts. It'll have perspectives from every side, ending with what you'll all be most curious about once the story ends. (Note, this is one of the things that diverges from Canon material.)**


	12. Chapter 12

**I know I know I know that I'm super late to updating, I kept saying 'oh I have time' and did other things instead and that led me to staring at this Friday morning after geology going 'oh my god what am I going to do'. It's not like I didn't have a plan, I have a notebook I bought from a friend's redbubble that I use specifically as my planning notebook. I've planned things out for the next 2 chapter and do have some ideas, but I'm just...the writing bug that's gotten me through the past few updates has totally died and I miss it and want it back.**

 **Also, I've just noticed that the double line system isn't working on here, which isn't good. I believe I'll do a line, put LINELINE between them, and then another one. Sucks that Fan fiction's formatting won't allow double lines :(**

 **On a side note, thank you guys so much for all the feedback! I'm glad to have hooked some of you guys with the story, and am doing everything I can to keep writing. Things will be getting dicey over the next two months, with exams and major projects coming up (plus 3 events I have to go to for work but I need to see if the volunteer work I did back in August can count for an off campus engagement), but I will let everyone know ahead of time when I don't expect updating for 2+ weeks.**

 **Now! Onto the story!**

* * *

Chapter Twelve

The walk down was pretty quiet; most of the ninja were already seated together when I got down there, having stopped to 'tie my shoe', which led me to taking a seat between who I believed were Smoke and Form if I remembered dad's files correctly. I smiled, making eye contact with them as I sat, giving a brief wave. The ninja seemed deep in conversation where they sat, even though the meal hadn't started yet. "Hey," I said, making myself comfortable. Form was eyeing me. "Skylor and you are?" That seemed to catch her off guard. She probably was like everyone else, aware she couldn't get too close, anyone could end up being the person who defeats her in this so called 'tournament'. She just seemed to eye me, before looking at other competitors. Smoke seemed a bit friendlier, reaching his hand out.

"I'm Ash, master of smoke." He smirked as he shook my hand, but the joke was certainly on him. I felt his power run up my arm like an electric shock, and had to suppress the shudder. "That's Cam, she's form. Shape shifting, all that stuff." I raised an eyebrow, and Cam smirked at me, changing to match my face, before shifting back. "And your element?"

I took a sip of water from the cup in front of me, dodging it for the minute. If I stalled long enough, Chen would come in, and if I knew him, he wouldn't pass up the chance to make another long, pompous speech to us. "It's nothing special. Don't really know how to put what I can do into words. Maybe it'd be best if I showed you." I smiled, touching his arm, before dissolving into a cloud of smoke.

Trying powers I sampled always felt weird at first, but this was a new kind of weird. It was being weightless like a bird, and like I was made of nothing but sunlight. There was a thickness too, heaviness, and I reformed myself. "Like I said, hard to put that into words."

My little moment of showing off had caught the attention of more than just him. Now there were several pairs of eyes watching, including the ninja. Ash's eyes were wide. "Holy shit…" He looked at me, frowning. "Elemental powers are only passed through family lines. My little brother can't even do that—how can you?" I knew what he was thinking, and shook my head as Chen came out.

"Not related, my power…it copies powers from other people. It's weird." I moved my hands to my lap. "Not really sure what use it has…"

Ash was about to say something to me, but Chen cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. I took another sip of water, glancing over at the ninja. They were looking at Chen, Garmadon whispering something to Kai. Kai nodded slightly, eyes narrowed and staring Chen down. It was interesting to watch, and my father didn't acknowledge his glare, standing in front of his throne, smiling brightly. "It's only been a short while since I last saw all of you, but it's wonderful to see everyone made it to dinner without any troubles!" He tittered with laughter, and so did some of the Kabuki standing in the back, waiting for the feast to start so they could put on a show. That was the only reason they would linger like they were.

Looking around, I remembered the last time we had dinner in this room. It wasn't the usual place. It had been Lloyd's fourteenth birthday, just a couple of months ago. Chen had the hall set up to accommodate all of the cultists and Lloyd sat in the middle, where a man with salt and pepper hair now sat. I had sat to his left, and everyone was happy, laughing. Most of the cult members had grabbed small items from the mainland, things like dollar store slinkies and candies that he didn't get often. I had been put in charge of dessert, and had put together an ice cream sundae bar that was set up once dinner was halfway over, and Lloyd's smile had been enormous. He didn't go wild on sweets a lot, but I remembered having to help him burn off the sugar high and get him back to his room before he crashed from it. You could hardly see his ice cream for all of the candy and sprinkles on top of it.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll have our first event for the tournament, and I think you'll all enjoy it quite a bit. One will not pass the first challenge, they will vanish! Those who are successful will have hours to prepare before their first individual battle."

"And what happens to those who lose?" Garmadon asked. His voice was different than I imagined it being, or even remembered it being. It wasn't raspy or even evil sounding. It sounded like any random on the telephone, a normal person. I looked over at him, glancing between him and my father. Other masters were noticing the tension between the two.

"Well who likes to lose, Garmadon? Surely not you..." Chen laughed, the Kabuki now nothing more than the disturbing echo of approval he craved. "Losers lose, no one wants to lose, so it doesn't matter what happens to them! Losers are not winners, losers get nothing!"

I could see the ninja looking at each other with worry in their expressions, and my father kept talking. "Only one can be the winner of this tournament, and they will not only win a lifetime supply of delicious noodles, but they will win something far beyond their wildest dreams." I couldn't help but feel sick, knowing what really would happen. Dad had been preparing this for months, he had gone over every detail with me, told me everything, and that was when I realized Lloyd needed to be saved.

"Such as?" Ash spoke up, raising an eyebrow to my father. He had attitude, and I'm sure he had better things to do than be here fighting against strangers. "And how long is this tournament supposed to take? Some of us have responsibilities and lives we just dropped to come here." He crossed his arms, and looked down.

His question seemed to catch dad off his game, and I raised an eyebrow. How long _did_ he plan on dragging this out for? To be fair, I wouldn't have been surprised if he simply ambushed each of us in our sleep, had us restrained and then stole our powers. That's what would have gone down if Clouse was as in charge as he wished to be. Cut and dry and to the point, but dad preferred shows, he preferred toying with his prey, and that's what we were to him; prey. "Well, I suppose that would all depend on how fast you can compete in your rounds! Should not take more than a few days!" He laughed, smiling. "As for what else you could win, how do riches beyond your wildest imaginations sound? Gems, gold, there would be plenty for the victor." I could see Ash stiffen, and he seemed to be thinking about it. I could imagine the gears turning in his head, coming up with how he would use these imaginary prizes.

 _'Maybe I should warn him...but then that could just make things even more dangerous for him._ ' I sat still, looking down at the wood of the table, and my father kept babbling. "Oh yes, there are things each of you want, very odd how such powerful people each have their own struggles that such prizes would be able to solve..." There was some grumbling further down the table, but I didn't look up. "Now, enough with such serious business! The tournament starts in the morning, tonight is for merriment and mingling! So merry and mingle!" He hopped into his chair, smiling at Clouse, who was half-hidden behind the chair, eyes narrow and staring down Garmadon. If I recalled correctly, they had trained together. I could only imagine there being bad blood between the two. I shook my head, turning to Ash. He was putting some food on his plate.

"So what would you do with that prize? The riches sound pretty nice, don't they?" I touched his arm, giving him a friendly smile. Camille was busy in conversation with speed, the idiot with the dumb glasses.

Ash was silent for a moment, staring at his plate. "Probably get a house in the middle of nowhere, some place my brother can go to a better school, have his own space...Leaving our parent's house was the worst. Shitty apartment in the city was all we could afford."

"You have a brother?" I hadn't met many elemental masters with siblings, it just wasn't common. Most parents wouldn't want to risk passing their powers onto their kid, let alone risk sibling rivalry with only one having power. It wasn't _always_ that only one person had the power, but one would always have the more dominant power skill set, and the other would be weaker.

He took a bite of food, nodding. "Pyro, he's fifteen now. Not a little kid, but I still wanna help him out... Parents vanished when he was pretty young." He paused to swallow. "I'd really rather not talk about that."

"I understand." I took a bite of my own food, and after a few days noodle free, these tasted less like cardboard and more like actual food. They weren't so awful, but whether that was because I hadn't been eating them for a while, or because they simply were cooked to impress the guests of the island, I didn't know. It could very well be a mix of the two. "What do you want to talk about then?"

* * *

 **LINELINE**

* * *

It felt like dinner dragged on forever. It wasn't bad, in fact, the noodles tonight tasted better than the ones in Chen's restaurants! Which even surprised Cole, since he was the one who always insisted on getting take out from there when we felt too lazy to cook, or if we were coming back late at night after searching for Lloyd. Walking up the stairs, I saw Kai rush ahead to catch up with Skylor, chatting with her. It was weird how she ended up right next door to him, while the rest of us were on different floors of the building. Zane touched my arm, and I stopped on the step, looking back at him. "What?"

"...Didn't it seem odd that Skylor purposefully avoided talking to us during dinner? Even after everyone got up to socialize with other competitors." He walked slowly, staring at her. Even though he wasn't looking, he didn't stumble on the stairs. If I did what he was doing, I'd be flat on my face in seconds. "I thought she was our friend."

He had a point. For someone who had been so chummy the past two days, she did avoid us. I shook my head, looking down as we headed up to the landing my room was on. "Maybe she just doesn't want a big target on her back for associating with us. You saw the way metal hands was eyeing us. If we weren't here on a mission, as a team, I'd try to avoid you guys too." It sounded harsh, but it was the truth. We needed to stick together, but by sticking together it made us a big target to the other teams. They hadn't had time to form alliances yet, but here we were, a cemented team who knew each other pretty well, strengths, weaknesses, everything. Garmadon had warned us about Chen though, he warned us to expect him to try turning us against one another. I stopped in front of my door, hand on the handle and looked at Zane. "...don't forget, Kai needs us to come see him in a few hours, so we can figure out our next move.

Zane nodded, rubbing his arm as he glanced at the stairs. "I'd rather not go back to my room. I feel that if I stay there too long my joints will freeze over, and that would not be good for any of us." I chuckled, and he frowned. "I'm quite serious, Jay. Being exposed to sub zero temperatures for extended periods of time would damage my hardware."

I nodded, opening the door to my room. "Then by all means, come inside and play some video games with me. Nice and cool in here." Laughing, I walked in, Zane closing the door behind me. "Can't believe they thought making your room a literal ice box would be a good idea!"

"You heard Cole; his bed is actually made of rock. Chen seemed to think themed rooms would amuse us, but honestly, they sound quite dangerous. Kai has lava in his." I walked over, grabbing the remote controller for video games before sitting on the edge of my bed. "This guy is nuts with the deadly stuff already, and that's just in decorating. Imagine what we're gonna have to put up with when fighting starts?"

Zane sat on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. He frowned, and I followed his eye. There was something stuck behind the plate for the light fixture, something green and shaped like a knife. "What the heck?" I mumbled, standing on my bed to get a closer look. I could see the tarnished handle sticking out slightly, and I pulled it out. The blade was clear, tinted green. I could see through it and everything was cloudy. "This is super weird..."

Zane touched the blade, it looked relatively sharp, and he pulled back his finger fast. I could see the minuscule slice in his artificial skin. "You okay?"

"I will be. What's odd is why that was hidden in the light... Zane examined it, taking it from my hands. "Very odd... I would hide this elsewhere in the room, Jay. It may come in handy later on."

"Sure, sure..." Zane was usually right about these things, so I slipped it into a drawer on the bedside table. It fit, barely. Getting it out would probably be a pain now, but I know for a fact that hadn't been there when I arrived. "Hey, Zane...do you think something's weird about," I paused. Zane had walked over to the television, reaching behind it. "Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing?" I ran over, leaping off the bed. He turned to me, holding a black plastic sphere with a lens in it. The item was no bigger than doughnut hole. A spy camera. I shuddered. "Was that..?"

"It was plugged in. I believe it was fully functioning and transmitting video to somewhere in this complex. I heard the camera adjust, perhaps zooming, that's what tipped me off." Zane put it down on the table. "Which means your room is likely not the only one with similar items in it."

* * *

 **LINELINE**

* * *

Walking silently through the halls, knowing behind each door I passed was a sleeping contestant who had absolutely no clued what truly awaited each and every one of them. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red darting behind a corner, the trailing of a ponytail on a sly, spoiled brat.

Every contestant except for one, it appeared. Walking down the hall, I caught her slip into the library, perhaps to do a bit of late night reading. Perhaps to meddle in Master Chen's plan. I could feel myself glaring, but even _I_ know she's hardly a threat to the plan. Sabotaging her fight would be too easy, pit her against the ninja she's so fond of. It would be taking two birds out with one stone.

For now, I'll let her sneak about. Turning, I headed the other way, heading into the back of the kitchen, taking that passage down into the catacombs. It was dark, and for now, it was silent. The noodle machines had all been put into stand by for the night, and the usually deafening roar they produced was no more than a distant humming. I could hear every step I took on the slate floor, a solid sounding clack each time. There were a few places where the slate was beginning to break, most likely from one of those imbeciles dropping something onto it. A machine piece, perhaps, or something equally heavy. Slate was a strong material, to break it the way it appeared would take a large force colliding with it.

Slate in itself was an odd rock to begin with; I had always questioned Master Chen's choice to use slate. Part of me knew it had to do with the sound. Hollow sounding yet dense, a rainbow naturally from variations in the way minerals had been deposited. When the flooring had been put down, he had run across it for nearly an hour, relishing in the sound it made. Some areas of the floor were of higher metamorphic grade than others, small sections glimmering with micas. They were stronger than the places that had cracked, yet they were also more foliated. You could see the lines on them. Small patches of phyllite, hidden amongst the slate. Formed at different times, under different amounts of pressure.

In a way, minds were also like slate. They're strong, but under enough pressure, enough duress, they'll crack. Not to mention, even before slate cracks, it's easy enough to manipulate with the right tools. With a chisel, or a pick, bits can be removed, and the slate can be shaped into beautiful and artistic tiles, or groomed into uniform slabs for more formal floorings. Same with minds, indoctrination into a way of thinking was just like chipping away the undesirable pieces on your slate slab.

I heard a cough, and looked up from the floor; two of the guards stationed outside of the door were looking at me. My eyes narrowed, and they looked away. I could practically smell their fear of angering me, which was one perk of being Chen's right hand man. It _almost_ made up for Chen's childish antics which were inescapable during the day. "Step aside," I slurred slightly as I stepped closer. "I would like to talk to him." They unlocked the door, and I stepped in. The boy was fast asleep, under the blanket Chen had brought for him earlier when he complained of it being cold in here. Not only was it time to repeat the spells to keep him from writhing in pain, but it was time to ensure he knew what his part in this plan was. I knelt down beside him, muttering the spell. Healing spells and pain relieving spells were a nuisance, wearing off after less than a day.

Lloyd shifted in his sleep, waking slightly. His eyes opened slightly, and he looked at me, opening his eyes lazily. He seemed confused, jerking a little as he looked around, before he relaxed. "Clouse…?" He stifled a yawn as I finished the spell. "What…what's going on…?" He was speaking quietly, stretching his legs under the blanket.

I touched his hair, shaking my head. "Nothing's going on. I simply wish to talk to you. It was an excellent thing that I had caught him in the middle of a deep sleep cycle, because with the internal grogginess, he wouldn't notice a thing. "It's been a long day for you, hasn't it? Not much to do down here…" I kept my hand on his head, keeping him lying on his side. He was disoriented, which made this so much easier. His mind was already weak, and he didn't seem to notice the purple haze of magic surrounding his head. Perfect.

"There are people on this island who want to hurt you, Lloyd…even if they say you can trust them; you know that's not true. You can't trust anyone on this island. Not a single person," He nodded slightly, the malleable thoughts of a child accepting it, the magic letting it sink quickly, cementing itself in place in the back of his mind. "Except your father and myself, do you understand that?" His eyes blinked slowly, almost one at a time. Chuckling lightly, I made the influence even stronger. "Not even Skylor can be trusted. She only wants to use you, like the ninja, like your birth father, like everyone else."

He shivered, as if he was cold, and I smirked, continuing. "You saw how she put you in danger, how she let you be seen by the ninja. She was trying to return you, because she's jealous. She hates that Chen gives you all his attention. She wishes she had that." I lifted my hand from his head, moving it to touch his shoulder, mindful of the fresh tattoo. In the morning, I would need to check, to make sure it looked alright. He flinched a bit. "She wishes she had that, but she simply cannot compete against you. You're the perfect son. You don't question what Chen tells you…" I helped him sit up, looking into his eyes. They were unfocused and slid around the room lazily. "You do exactly as you're told. You do everything you can to impress your father, and he notices. He does notice, Lloyd, and he's very proud of you…" The boy nodded, and seemed wobbly sitting with his back against the wall, as if he was going to topple over if I moved my hand from his shoulder. Magic had always been a weakness of the boy. He seemed to react to it in ways I had never seen before. His powers had something to do with it, I'm sure. It was both resistances to the magic, and intolerance that amplified the spells. In a way, it was its own kind of magic.

I pulled back. There was no need to keep it on for too long, and the haze began to dissipate in the cell. The words would stick with him, in the back of his mind. He would remember that there were only two people he could trust, but that he also had to play the part of grateful victim if and when the time came. With Skylor aligning herself with them, it wouldn't surprise me if they busted him out of his cell within the next two days. I should talk to Chen about changing up the ninja's already selected brackets. The more difficult the fight, the less of a chance there would be of Lloyd having to be used. I stood once the boy stopped swaying, and turned to walk away.

"Clouse," Lloyd's voice was small, sleepy and childish. He drew his knees close to his chest, looking at me. "Thank you, for everything you've done for me...Even when I didn't deserve it." Lloyd scrubbed at his face, and then looked me in the eye. "I know I can always trust you..."

I smiled, looking back at him. "That makes me happy to hear, Lloyd, but why the sudden sentiment?" Time to test and I watched him, leaning against the door. If everything went right, he would say something about not trusting his sister.

"After being in Ninjago City, I've been able to see how good I have it here. How nice things are. I don't have to worry-" A yawn cut him off, and he seemed to be fighting off sleep. "Worry about how wrong things could go... There aren't as many threats on the island." I raised an eyebrow, and he continued. "...I think Sky was trying to get rid of me, pawn me off on someone else..." He sounded uncertain, and I watched, careful to make sure he wasn't catching on that I had meddled in his mind, tampering with what he deemed to be true. He had seen me do it many times to cultists who decided to try rising above their ranks without reason. He knew what I was capable of. "Like...she told me on the way to the park to not go back to the tent, but to meet at another place, by the gate." This was news to me. Skylor had insisted on the phone that she would follow the plan, but at the same time, she had been unreliable lately, snooping around, assisting the ninja outside of her role in the plans... It didn't surprise me anymore.

"I'll talk with her, Lloyd... You should rest. It's well beyond your bedtime." I walked back over to him, touching his hair, trying to make it look less ratty. "I'll deal with her. Just remember, she isn't the boss of you. She has no power over you."

"I can't trust her anymore, Clouse..." He sounded heartbroken. I knew they were both very close; Skylor was the only one anywhere near Lloyd's age on the island, with a few exceptions of younger cult initiates. They lived side by side for years, and she had always wanted a younger sibling. When Lloyd came to the island, she had been overjoyed, finally having a younger sibling. She had helped us nurse him back to health, and had taken it upon herself to teach him the basics of fighting. Lloyd sounded ready to cry and I smiled. He was the slate when a force stronger acted upon it. He cracked, a small crack, but it was still a crack. "She was my friend."

"Poor child..." I stood, turning towards the door. "Who needs friends, they're truly only enemies." I looked over my shoulder at him as I opened the door. "You'll find everyone has ulterior motives in life. They only make 'friends' so they have people to use to further their goals."

"Except you and dad."

I smiled, hand on the handle still, no longer looking at him.

Mission successful.

"Of course, now, you need to save strength and get some sleep." I headed out into the hall, heading back to find Chen.

He would be elated to know what I had done.

* * *

 **There we go! End of the chapter finally! I hope the slate passage makes sense now. I swear I just didn't know how to write from Clouse's perspective. I've never done this before really. (I mean, I've played him in an RP but there he was very minor and hardly did anything.**


End file.
